Hurricanes' Bartlett Receives WHL Distinguished Service Award

Calgary, Alta. - Western Hockey League Commissioner Ron Robison announced today, on behalf of the WHL Board of Governors, that Lethbridge Hurricanes Director of Player Development Bob Bartlett has been named a recipient of the WHL Distinguished Service Award for the 2017-18 WHL season.

Bartlett was honoured by WHL Commissioner Ron Robison in Lethbridge during a special ceremony prior to tonight's game between the Lethbridge Hurricanes and Tri-City Americans.

"Bob has been a fixture in the WHL for over 40 years and has made an extraordinary contribution to not only to the Lethbridge Hurricanes but to the game of hockey as a whole", commented WHL Commissioner Ron Robison. "Bob is highly respected by everyone in the WHL scouting fraternity and continues to go above and beyond to assist the Hurricanes franchise in identifying the top prospects in the system."

Barlett has been actively involved with the WHL for over 40 years, having started scouting for the Lethbridge Broncos from 1974 to 1985. After the Broncos' departure, he played an instrumental role in bringing WHL hockey back to Lethbridge with the arrival of the Hurricanes for the 1987-88 WHL season.

Bartlett was General Manager of the Lethbridge Hurricanes from 1990 through 1995 and was inducted into the Lethbridge Sports Hall of Fame as a member of the Builders Category in 1998. He was inducted into the Alberta Hockey Hall of Fame in 2010 and the Lethbridge Hurricanes/Broncos Hall of Fame in 2011.

From 2011 to 2014, Bartlett was a Scout for the Moose Jaw Warriors, serving as the Warriors' Director of Player Development from 2014 to 2016. Returning to the Lethbridge Hurricanes in 2016, Bartlett now serves as the Hurricanes' Director of Player Development.

"The big thing with Bob is the longevity he's had within our league," said Lethbridge Hurricanes General Manager Peter Anholt. "He's been around our league for many, many years and has represented our league in different capacities with different teams. From our standpoint, we brought him back into the Lethbridge Hurricanes organization after being away for a number of years and he's really added to our organization in lots of different ways, but his experience, first and foremost, is important."

The WHL Distinguished Service Award, which was introduced by the WHL in 2004, is presented annually to individuals who have worked tirelessly behind the scenes on behalf of WHL franchises and in doing so have made an extraordinary contribution at the Club and League levels over an extended period. The WHL will present Distinguished Service Awards annually to an individual from both the WHL Western and Eastern Conferences.